Friday, February 28, 2014

8:04 AM

Wisconsin's House delegation split along party lines on legislation to overhaul the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The delegation's five Republicans joined the majority in a largely party-line 232-182 vote, while Wisconsin's three Dems were opposed to the bill. The bill would alter the bureau’s leadership structure and fund it through congressional appropriations.

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, called the bill "a blatant attempt to undermine the CFPB, opening the door to another financial crisis where Main Street loses jobs thanks to Wall Street recklessness."

But U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston and a sponsor, said the measure would "reform the CFPB and actually make it work."

"When we don't fund agencies through this institution, we lose authority, we lose oversight," Duffy said. "Let's take that power and control back into Congress, and let's actually put the power back in the hands of the people."

The bill is considered unlikely to move through the Dem-controlled Senate.